The Global Business Center at the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business builds global business expertise by hosting and sponsoring outstanding educational initiatives. It is one of 31 federally-designated Centers for International Business Education and Research http://ciberweb.msu.edu.
Its annual Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) http://www.foster.washington.edu/gsec/ is an international business plan competition in which students from around the world find creative, commercially sustainable ways to address problems of poverty in the developing world. It is a leading edge approach to "doing well by doing good" in that it teaches and promotes the use of business principles, by young people, for positive social change on a global scale. In addition, GSEC:
• Furthers collaborative and interdisciplinary partnerships both within and among university campuses;
• Builds the skills of future global business leaders;
• Contributes to the understanding of culture and business practices in other countries;
• Unites the business, non-profit and academic sectors in learning about and supporting innovative and financially feasible solutions to global poverty.
GSEC brings together a wide range of expertise in the community and academic sectors to learn about innovative solutions to global poverty through business development. GSEC participants increase their global awareness and develop their knowledge and understanding of how to take a business plan from inception to implementation with the advice and involvement of a wide base of knowledgeable contributors.
